The pros and cons of custom vs. template websites

Every business needs a website that looks attractive and aligns with their brand. Your website should not only meet your online needs, but also act as a sales tool for your business. When designing your website, one of the big decisions you will need to make is whether it is best to proceed with a custom web design or if a template is sufficient.

When you choose a template design, you choose a website that is already structurally laid out. You can choose from hundreds of templates depending on where you are building, this helps to match the design with your brand. When you choose a custom web design, you choose strategy and content first and then build your design with code from the ground up.

There are pros and cons to both options, we’ve listed those pros and cons of custom vs. template website below. This should help you to figure out which option is best for your business or client when you proceed with a website redesign.

The pros and cons of website templates

Simply put, a website template is the more affordable web design option. Using a template also requires a shorter development time for the company, and can be useful if you are on a budget and need to ensure that your website is up and running in a short amount of time. Another perk is that you are not required to have advanced coding skills, you simply plug in your content and go.

Some potential problems with using website templates include a possibility that other business or possibly competitors may use the same template as you, which means you won’t have the unique quality that using a custom design affords you. Additionally, some templates are also not built to be search engine friendly and are not tested in every browser, causing potential problems for some users trying to access your website.

The pros and cons of custom web designs

If you choose to use a custom design for your website, your site will stand out as a unique digital entity. With a custom design you can base your webpage around your needs as a business and your marketing strategy, as well as the needs of your clients, giving them the highest quality user experience possible. As well, the company that built the website for you will be more readily available for support for your site if you ever require it.

However, custom designs don’t come without their downfalls. Choosing to use a custom web design can be costly for the business upfront, much more so than simply using a template. Also, because they need to be built it will take more time to get them up and running.

What do you choose custom or templated website?

When choosing between a custom web design and a template, you need to focus on what your business needs are. Custom designs are best for complex businesses with with a need for organization of complex content on the website. Small business on a budget, however, may be better off using a website template.